Filed under: Articles, Design, Inspiration, Music | Tags: abstract, concept, Design, idea, Inspiration, mood, Music
Image credit FineLine of Deviant Art
I came across this article from Smashing Magazine this morning and I have to share it with everyone. Called, Drawing Inspiration From Music, this post covers the author’s difficult process transitioning over to being a designer and how hard it was using abstract concepts to come up with design solutions. It then goes into how this can be accomplished by listening to music while you work. This way, you can use music to get into the heads of your audience. There are also some lovely pictures, each with a short excerpt explaining how music can specifically bring design inspiration. I know I have found that listening to music helps me better capture the spirit of my audience or objective behind my design. When designing a Jazz CD, what else should one be listening to while they’re putting together some cover art? Likewise, when designing a zine, its time to pull out the alternative rock and dust off those obscure indie folk tracks. Just knowing, or guessing, what sort of music your audience is listening to can open many doors while designing. I definetly recommend checking out the full article.
Filed under: Art, Color, Inspiration, Local artists, Oregon, Portland | Tags: abstract, Art, art gallery, art walk, celestial, First Thursday, paintings, Portland, Sarah Cosman
Image credit Sarah Cosman
I first saw Sarah Cosman’s work just this last Thursday during the First Thursday art walk in the Pearl District here in Portland. I’ve mentioned Last Thursday, and First Thursday is very similar in theory, except that instead of having streets lined with art and community canvases, you get to walk inside a myriad of more prestigious art galleries downtown and partake in some wine and cheese tasting (yum!).
This artist’s work caught my attention right away. Her art is heavily influenced by celestial subject matter, form, and color. Her cosmos paintings swirl and twirl in some of my favorite hues of blue, purple, and green. She also does portraits of a more surreal, exaggerated reality or dream state style, and some abstract works as well. Her abstract paintings are very beautiful and methodical, as if each color, line, and shape was placed with a purpose. Check out the work she has posted on her website. Some of the gallery links don’t work, but you can see her famous Cosmos paintings as well as her abstract work. If you get a chance, check her out every first Thursday of the month at 634 NW Flanders #238.
Filed under: Art, Inspiration, Photos | Tags: abstract, drawing, flower, illustration, ink, lily, sketchbook
A sketchbook doodle
Since inspiration, or boredom, can strike at any moment I like being able to have a sketchbook on me at all times. This little number I picked up from Paper Zone in Southeast the other day when I went hunting for some fancy resume paper. It fits in the smallest of purses, or the largest of coat pockets.
I broke it in with an ink drawing of a dancing lily flower. With all this nice weather it makes me miss being home, picking wild lilies in the woods. I especially love drawing with ink and creating organic lines and forms, some without rhyme or reason at all, just letting my hand flow across a page. It’s my way of creatively unwinding when I spend all my time on a computer micromanaging every letter, point, and shape. There’s nothing like a good rollerball-they make it so much easier to create vectors later.
Michelle Clark Graphic Design 